The Highs and Lows of Mistletoe!
by Literati Lover
Summary: A short one-shot of Christmas fluff! Will it be Jesse or Paul? And what does Mistletoe have to do with it all? This is basically the "hot-tub party" scene of the book, but with a Christmas party instead!


Title: The Highs and Lows of Mistletoe!

Summary: What if things were a little different with the hot tub party? What if it was Christmas-time, and it was a Christmas party? (Sorry about changing the time of year). And instead of staying in her room, Suze decides that she wants to attend this party because she's bummed over Jesse choosing to move into the Rectory. Everything else though is pretty much the same! This story starts right before the party.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I do wish that I owned Jesse (I'll even take Paul if I can't have Jesse). I love them both!

I walked into my house after school that day to discover a few things. First, I saw that some guests had already arrived early for the Christmas party. Another thing was that our house looked like a Winter Wonderland. There was tinsel and snowflake decorations everywhere. I saw them and laughed, because it was completely obvious that these decorations were not put up by Brad. And turning around, I saw the culprit: Debbie. I'm sure she was only there early and helping decorate because of her crush on Brad, or Dopey as I like to call him.

Debbie was definitely dressed and ready for the party. She had on a low-cut tight brown tank-top with tight brown hotpants. She had brown thigh high socks with adorable brown Jimmy-choos and then she had antlers on her head. I'm assuming that she really liked her outfit and wanted to make it "Christmas-y" so she threw in some antlers so she could call herself a reindeer. I saw Brad eyeing her, which caused me to roll my eyes. Debbie was definitely pleased by this, even though she pretended not to care.

I really was not in the mood to talk, but Debbie either wasn't aware of that or else she just didn't care.

She must have thought that we were bff's by the way she was prying into my personal life. Asking all of these questions about "this guy" I'm seeing. It was really annoying. But, at the time, I was too upset to care. I was more interested in if Jesse was going to even say goodbye before he left and the fact that he's been treating me like poison ivy ever since we kissed.

I got upstairs and sank down into a bath, pitying myself. Unrequited love SUCKS. Bah-humbug to Christmas time. Or at least that's what I felt right now.

The more I started to think, the more I realized that Father Dom was probably right about Jesse. It probably was best that he moved to the Rectory. Otherwise, I would spend every time pinning over him. It would be much harder on me if I had to see him. The worst of it all is that I really thought Jesse loved me. I mean, with saving me all those times……

And, yeah, ok, Jesse is a gentleman, so he would be willing to save any "damsel in distress." But he was always worried about saving me in particular, and he saved me numerous times. I really thought that he was my "knight in shining armor" and that we would live "happily ever after." Especially after that kiss the other night. But I guess I was wrong. Jesse didn't love me. Because if he did, he wouldn't want to move out. He'd want to stay with me so that we could make out all the time. Well, Jesse's to modest for that, but we could at least kiss a little, and work our way up to making out. Plus, you would think that he would at least want to stay so that he could see me every day.

After I finished my nice long bath, I rebandaged my feet and changed into some comfortable clothes, planning on lying in my bed, pitying myself and pining away for Jesse.

But, as I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Jesse sitting in his usual place on the window seat, with Spike in his lap.

Just seeing him made my heart break all over again. "Oh, you're still here. I thought you would have moved to the rectory by now," I spat out, with a look of hurt, anger, and disgust on my face.

"Susannah," Jesse said quietly, but I ignored it, refusing to look at him. Because I knew that if I looked at him, my heart would break again and I wouldn't be able to stay angry. "You know it's better this way," he said, as I saw a box lying on my bed.

Ignoring Jesse for the moment, I reached down to open it, and a note fell outta box to the floor. I picked it up and began to read.

Suze,

I'm sorry you've had a rough day today. Let me give you some "Christmas cheer." Wear this tonight for the party, and everyone will be "jolly." Well, at least I will. *wink* See you there. –Paul

The first thought that crossed my mind was, 'How did Paul get into my room to put this here?' Then I figured he must have dropped it off or something before I got home, considering that he had to leave school early.

I put the note to the side, and began to unfold the tissue paper to see what was there, and my face turned bright red. 'Seriously,' I thought. 'Paul wants me to wear _this?!'_

My eyes must have popped out of my head, because Jesse spoke up.

"Susannah, are you alright?" he asked, sound concerned. I didn't look up, but continued to focus on the package in shock. Jesse reached over to pick up the note that I had set aside, as his eyes darkened. I could see his features tighten and darken as he finished the note.

"You're not going to this…….this….._party_……tonight, are you, Susannah?" he asked, looking curious.

I was about to say no, because well, did I want to go to a stupid party planned by Brad….not really. But as I opened my mind to say it, I changed my mind. If Jesse didn't want to spend time with me, then I might as well have some fun with people who do want to be around me. Plus, I wanted to see Jesse's reaction to my answer.

"I might. Why does it concern you?" I asked, giving him an angry stare.

"Susannah, please don't be like this," he said, reaching out to touch my arm. Instead, I reached down inside the box and pulled the outfit out.

"_Nombre de Dios, _Susannah! You cannot wear that…..that…….._thing_," he said, eyes bulging out of his head.

"I can do what I want," I said, still picking up all of the pieces.

"But, it barely covers anything. That is indecent," he said, astounded.

I looked down. He was right, It really didn't cover much. It was a santa costume, but it was an _extremely_ lowcut V-neck dress made of red satin with white fur trim. There was a belt at the waistline and the dress ended about 2 inches after the butt. Also in the box were bright red thigh-high boots and a santa hat. It looked more like lingerie than an outfit. Did I want to wear this? Absolutely not! Was I going to wear it? Well, maybe. Only because Jesse didn't want me to. I mean, what did he think was going to happen? Some guy would randomly see me and fall deeply in love with me, because of my sexy body. _Like that will ever happen!_ And even if it did, Jesse wouldn't even care, because _obviously_ my feelings for him are unreturned. So I decided that maybe I was going to wear it. I was going to wear it just to show Jesse that I didn't need his permission to do something and the fact that he rejected me didn't matter.

I finished picking up the outfit and headed into the bathroom to change.

"Susannah, you _cannot_ wear that outfit. Guys will have indecent thoughts about you," he said, sternly.

I snorted. I _wish_ some guys would have indecent thoughts about me, especially Jesse. But that definitely isn't going to happen.

"I can wear, it and I'm going to wear it. It doesn't matter to you, anyway, because you won't be here. You live in the Rectory now," I said bitterly while closing the bathroom door.

"I will so be here, Susannah. If you are wearing _that thing_, I will have to be here to ensure that guys do not put their hands on your in an indecent way. I cannot have you prancing around in the house in that outfit without supervision," he said, insistent.

I rolled my eyes as I changed. When I finished, I looked in the mirror. I looked like…..a hooker! I looked more like a hooker than Debbie…and that's saying a lot! But, oh well, if I was going to prove a point to Jesse, I couldn't back out now! I finished applying a little lipgloss as I headed out the bathroom door.

I saw Jesse look, and his jaw literally dropped. Never have I seem that happen before. His cheeks turned a fiery red, and he looked to the floor blushing profusely. "Susannah, please do not wear that outfit to the party," he said, softly touching my arm.

"Sorry, Jesse, but I'm already dressed and ready to go. And I told you already, you don't live here anymore, so you don't have to see it. Just go off to the Rectory. I'm sure you'll love it more there anyway!" I said, telling myself not to cry.

"Querida……" he started to say as I heard a knock on the door. I didn't know what he was going to say because a minute later, CeeCee and Adam walked in.

"Come on, Suze. Get downstairs. The party's starting……….." she stopped as she saw me, and her eyes went wide.

"_What _are you wearing?!" she said, in shock.

"Just some outfit that Paul bought for me," I said, shrugging and trying to look casual. I noticed that Jesse's body tensed when I said the word Paul.

"Paul, huh?" she said, smiling. "What happened to this precious Jesse of yours?"

I nervously glanced over at Jesse as he looked at me and blushed. Before I could interrupt her, she kept talking.

"I mean, you and Paul were looking pretty cozy today at school……well before he lashed out at Kelly," she finished.

Jesse's face definitely darkened at that sentence, and I realized that it was time to go before CeeCee said something else.

"Alright, party time!" I said, grabbing her arm and heading out the door.

As I walked down the stairs, I ran into Debbie again. Why was this girl everywhere that I was?

"Wow, Suze. You look great!" she said, smiling at me. I couldn't tell if she really meant it or not.

"Um, thanks Debbie," I said as I walked past her with CeeCee and Adam.

"Alright, well I'll get us some drinks while you sit down somewhere. What do you want to drink?"

"Umm, a diet coke is fine, thanks," I said, as I watched her walk away. I know I just had one, but I felt like I needed extra caffeine to endure the night I felt would follow.

I was walking to find us some seats as I saw Jesse tagging along behind. Looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, I quietly hissed at him.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I told you already, Susannah. I'm following you around to make sure that no guys put their hands on you," he said, gazing over my body and blushing. Jesse was definitely checking me out! Which, ok, I mean it's not like he professed his love to me. But at least he likes my body. That's one part of me at least.

"Jesse, nobody's going to put their hands on me," I said quietly, hoping that no one could hear or see me, or else I'd be pegged for the crazy santa hooker. Luckily, the music was so loud and everyone was involved in their own conversations that they didn't hear or see me. I didn't wait for him to respond, I just walked away.

After wandering to find the best seats for me and CeeCee, I heard a whistle from someone who had just come in the door.

"Wow, Suze. When I bought that for you, I didn't think you'd really wear it. I must have been a good boy this year, because Santa definitely answered my Christmas wish," he said as he lustfully grazed my body with his eyes. I could definitely see longing in his eyes, and it made me feel nice. It was nice to be wanted, even if it wasn't by the guy who I wanted to want me. But still, at least _someone_ wants me.

I began to feel very hot, and my pulse sped up. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Wow, Suze. Speechless too? Today is just full of surprises! How about we go to your room and you can give me another surprise?" he asked, winking.

Up until this point, Paul hadn't seen Jesse, because his back was to him. But Jesse definitely made himself visible at this point. He stepped in front of Paul, glaring at him.

"Do not talk to the lady that way," he said, being sure to separate the distance between me and Paul.

"What are you gonna do about it, Rico Suave?" he asked, menacingly.

I looked around again. This would be very awkward if people realized that Paul was threatening the air.

I saw Jesse's fist tighten, and I jumped in between them.

"Jesse, come on. Don't do this, please? Just go back to my room or to the Rectory or wherever. We'll talk later." I said, trying to look into his eyes. But his glare remained focused on Paul.

"Yeah, Rico. Or should I call you EX? I mean, EX-living, EX-boyfriend, EX-Suze's love interest. They all mean the same thing. You're old news," Paul said, smirking at his own comment.

"Paul, knock it off," I said, annoyed. I could tell that Jesse was ready to pounce.

"Look, Paul. Please behave. And Jesse, just go back to my room, Please? We can talk later," I said, practically begging him not to make a scene.

"And leave you with _him?!" _he said, disgustedly, looking at Paul.

"Jesse, I'm fine. There are tons of people around. What's Paul really going to try with all of these people here? And with you keeping guard of my room?" I said, urging him to go.

"Fine," he said, annoyed. "But I'll be back to check on you, Susannah. And don't try anything," he said, turning to Paul before disappearing.

"Now that we're alone…….." Paul said, coming closer to me.

I took my hands and pushed him away lightly.

"No, Paul. I don't know what you had in mind, but I'm not interested."

"Aww, but Suze…. You don't even know what it is. You can't turn it down until you know what it is," he said, pouting.

"Ok, fine, what is it?" I asked, just to get him to drop it.

"We can go find a room………and you can be _naughty_ and it will be oh so very _nice," _he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"No! See, there, now I heard it and I turned it down," I said, walking away.

"Suze, don't be this way. Let's have fun. I know that you want to. I know you're trying to clear your head. Otherwise, you would have NEVER put on that outfit!" he said, giving me a look.

And he was right. I did want to have fun and try to keep my mind off of Jesse. But, with Paul? Not so much. Where did CeeCee disappear to anyway?

"Fine," I said, walking to the kitchen to find some food, when someone grabbed my arm. The kitchen was brimming with people, yet, I knew that grasp enough to know who had hold of me.

"What is it, Paul?" I said turning around. I saw him smirking and looking up into the doorway.

_Mistletoe?!! _Seriously?! This must have been Debbie's doing. I'm sure she was hoping that she and Brad would "accidentally" end up underneath it at one point tonight.

"No way, Paul," I started to say as I tried to pull away from his grasp.

"Kiss her!" a whole bunch of people began to scream.

"No, Paul. Don't…." I didn't get to finish, because Paul had shoved me against the wall and pressed his lips to mine.

The first few seconds I tried to pull away but the pressure he was using was too much. I tried to turn my head, but he followed my lips with his. Eventually, emotions overcame me, and I began to kiss back. The kiss was harsh and lustful, but it made me feel wanted. And Paul was just _such_ a good kisser. Paul's tongue wrestled with mine, and I sighed. Paul's kisses were like a drug. I wanted to stay away, but once I had a taste, I just couldn't stop. Paul pulled away and began kissing up and down my neck. Then he moved back to my lips. I began kissing back before thoughts flooded my head.

No matter how Jesse feels for me, I still love him. And I can't go around kissing Paul just because. No matter how much I _desperately_ wanted to at that moment. How could something _so wrong_ feel _so right?!_ I couldn't do this, not when I loved Jesse so much. I had to stay true to him, even though he didn't want me back. But I loved him. While Paul continued to kiss me, I slowly began to stop kissing back just enough to quickly turn my head to the side and say, "Paul, stop!" as I pushed him away.

But I didn't do that soon enough, because when I opened my eyes, I saw Jesse standing in front of us, and he looked shocked and hurt. Why he would be hurt though, I have no idea. Considering that he has no feelings for me.

By this time, we had already drawn a crowd. I mean, an extreme makeout session right in the doorway of the busiest room in the house definitely draws attention.

"Jesse," I said, trying to walk to him, but Paul held his grip on me.

"Suze, you don't want him. If you did, then you wouldn't have been kissing me like that. You obviously felt something when I kissed you. Especially since this wasn't our first kiss," he said, pointedly, looking at Jesse.

Jesse's fist clenched, and Paul continued.

"I mean, Suze, do you sigh and moan like that when Jesse kisses you too?" he finished, smirking and looking pretty proud of himself.

Well, at least until a fist flew into his face. Jesse had punched Paul scare in the jaw, and now they were brawling on the floor. The bad thing is that to everyone else, it just looked like Paul was either going mental or having a seizure.

"Paul! Jesse! Knock it off!" I screamed, jumping in between them. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, screaming to two guys where there was clearly only one. And jumping into the brawl? Bad idea! Because a fist flew into my face by accident and I fell to the floor. I was really dizzy and my head was spinning before I saw Jesse and Paul leaning over me.

They both looked guilty and upset.

"Querida, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Jesse said, looking down at me. "This is all your fault," He said, turning and glaring at Paul.

"All my fault?" Paul said, laughing. "If you wouldn't have attacked me, none of this would have happened?"

Everyone was looking at Paul like he was crazy.

"Well, if you wouldn't have taken advantage of Susannah, then I wouldn't have had to," Jesse said, rubbing the side of my face.

"I didn't take advantage of her, she obviously wanted to kiss me. I mean, you saw the kiss, right? She kissed back. Don't act like this was all my doing," Paul said, raising his eyebrows.

"Guys, please just stop," I said, still a little woozy.

Jesse looked hurt, but he swept me up in his arms and began to carry me up the stairs.

Everyone else's eyes popped out of their heads, because, to them, I was floating up the stairs. I heard things like "Ghost of Christmas" and "It must be the alcohol talking." It was a ghost, but not the ghost of Christmas. Just the ghost that has haunted my heart. And being carried by him felt amazing. I just wish he were doing it out of love instead of some sort of gentlemanly, brotherly type feeling.

We entered my room and Paul followed closely behind, as Jesse laid me on the bed.

"Get out of here," Jesse said, sternly, to Paul.

"I'm not leaving until Suze says that she wants me to," he said, crossing his arms and staying put.

"Paul, just go, ok? I've had a long night, and I just want to rest. I'll talk to you in school," I said, wanting to nod off to sleep.

"Fine, but this isn't over," Paul said, giving Jesse an evil glare as he left.

I moaned in pain for the headache that was coming on.

"Are you alright, Querida?" Jesse asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine except for the fact that you and Paul just destroyed my house and my reputation!" I said, finally waking up and starting to get angry.

Jesse looked down ashamed.

"Look, Jesse. I'm sorry that you felt awkward here with me, because you didn't love me back. I mean, yeah whatever, it's fine that you don't love me like I love you. I can't force you to. But that doesn't mean you have the right to attack anyone who actually MIGHT want me! That's just not fair!" I finished yelling, when I realized that I had told Jesse I loved him. I wanted to shrivel up and die at that moment.

"You……you love me?" he asked, shocked.

"Well, yeah. I mean I thought it was pretty obvious. But obviously, you don't love me, so I don't want to talk about it.

Jesse's eyes darkened.

"And what makes you think that I don't love you?"

"Well, I mean we kissed and then you avoided me like the plague. Then, you just decide to move to the rectory. You really wanted away from me that badly?" I asked sadly, about to cry.

"Querida, that's not it at all. How could I stay after that kiss? It wasn't appropriate. I love you, and the feelings that I have for you shouldn't exist between a ghost and, well, someone who's alive! It just isn't right. We can't be together. It would hold you back. You need someone…..well, someone _real! Someone alive._"

"Jesse, I don't want anyone else. I just want you. I love you, and I would give up everything just to be with you," I said, pouring out my heart.

"I love you too, Querida. But I have one question," he said, looking at me curiously. "What is that one green plant that was hanging in your kitchen doorway?"

I smiled at how cute it was that he didn't know.

"It's called Mistletoe…."

"Mistletoe. What's that?" he asked, quizzically.

"Well, at Christmastime, people hang it up, and when two individuals are both underneath it at the same time, they have to kiss. It's a Christmas tradition."

"Oh, really? Because I was curious as to what it was, so I grabbed some for myself in order to look it up in a book," he said, pulling some out from behind his back.

He lifted his arm, and held the mistletoe above my head as he smiled.

I looked up as we both leaned in and met for the most amazing kiss of my life.

After a little more tongue wrestling, Jesse pulled away. His voice was heavy. Heavy with passion! For me! It excited me to my very core.

"Susannah…….." Jesse said, groaning.

"You must change out of that outfit."

"You don't like it?" I asked, disappointed. I actually thought that I looked cute in it.

"No, I um, well, it's very flattering on you. But, it's very indecent, and well it makes it very hard for me to keep my hands to myself," Jesse said, blushing and looking down.

This news excited me and my smile beamed.

"Well that doesn't sound too bad to me," I said, pushing my lips against his own as our tongues met once again. Jesse let out a sigh, and I smiled against his lips.

Santa must have really liked me this year. I think kicking all those evil ghost butts really put me on his good side. Because, this Christmas was better than all of my other previous Christmases combined! I'm going to have to work even harder next year, because it seems impossible to top this year, but if it's possible, I definitely want to experience it. Oh, I also decided to stock up on Mistletoe, because you'll never know when it's needed. It can become your best friend. And after tonight, it was definitely my best friend. And not just at Christmastime, I decided to use it all year round!

A/N: The end! I hope that you liked it! Comment, please?! =)


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